Ellucian Colleague ERP software can effectively streamline your higher education institution’s processes and strengthen your campus community. Optimizing features and functionality is key to getting the most out of your investment so you can better serve your students and staff.

Learn the advantages of Ellucian Colleague ERP optimization and the general roadmap for approaching this process to achieve the greatest results for your institution. 

Objectives of Optimization

The primary goals of optimization can include:

• Modernize your database: Bring your higher education institution’s infrastructure into the future by moving from UniData to SQL. With more modern infrastructure, your institution can enjoy more support and stability.
• Improve and streamline your processes: Refining overly complicated and manual processes will help your institution boost efficiency and enhance your documented operating procedures. Your institution can enjoy better reporting practices and shift its focus to continuous improvement.
• De-customize: Customization can negatively impact your software’s functionality and slow your processes. Optimization involves reducing custom code for a more seamless ERP experience, so your system can easily adapt to the latest updates.

Benefits Of Ellucian Colleague ERP Optimization

Your institution can enjoy many advantages from optimizing the use of Ellucian Colleague ERP software. Explore some of the key benefits:

1. Improve Your Infrastructure

Outdated or overly complex database infrastructure can interfere with your institution’s processes. Optimization allows you to improve your ERP infrastructure by migrating from UniData to SQL, where you can enjoy greater stability.

SQL is significantly more supported by the higher education community than UniData, and it helps you reap additional benefits, including:

• Working with better data standards.
• Using SQL as a tool to reduce custom footprints.
• Reducing manual labor by using all available tools in the ERP system. 
• Improving reporting processes. 
• Using the tools you already have access to. 

2. Minimize Manual Labor and Maximize License Technology

Another key benefit of Ellucian Colleague ERP optimization is minimizing manual labor requirements. When your institution understands how to make the most out of your software system’s functionality and features, you can use the ERP to streamline processes and reduce manual requirements that take up valuable time.

Your higher education institution can realize the greatest return on investment by maximizing the use of the tools your ERP software provides. Maximizing the licensed technology available to your organization will help you strengthen your operations and waste less time and energy.

3. Align Your Processes and Tools

Ellucian Colleague ERP optimization also allows your institution to evaluate and review important business processes and identify areas for improvement. In the earlier days of utilizing ERP technology, the primary objective was to customize the system to your institution’s unique needs.

Now, aligning your processes and ERP tools is key to creating the most easy-flowing and seamless experience. When your processes and tools work together, your institution can enjoy greater convenience and usability. 

4. Make Systems Sustainable

Improving your database infrastructure and reducing your custom footprint through ERP optimization can make your institution’s systems more sustainable. This means your ERP will be easier to integrate with other third-party systems and accept software updates more efficiently.

When you improve colleague ERP utilization, you ultimately make your systems more manageable and adaptable to the changing technological landscape.

How to Approach Ellucian Colleague ERP Optimization

As a higher education institution, you want full utilization of your ERP. Tackling the following phases of optimization will help your community make the most of your software investment:

1. Organization

The first step in approaching optimization is building a project plan and governance. The process will involve the following steps:

1. Identify the scope of work.
2. Establish project organization.
3. Develop a project plan.
4. Develop a communications plan.
5. Set the project parameters.
6. Define success criteria.

The best place to begin is with a thorough assessment review of Colleague ERP and your processes. The assessments should be comprehensive and cover the following aspects of your higher education institution:

• Human resource processing.
• Catalog and curriculum management.
• Migrating to self-service.
• Billing and payment management.
• Operational assessments.
• Reporting strategy and deployment.
• ERP optimization.

2. Foundation

The foundation and drivers of optimization are your institution’s data infrastructure and business processes. Preparing to migrate to the right platform, from a customized to a best practices environment, is a key to your success. You will want to de-customize as much as possible and acquire new infrastructure.

Building a new SQL environment is an incredible opportunity for more thorough onsite user training you did not have before. This phase prepares your institution for technical work.

3. Technical

Technical optimization involves the following:

• Rolling out updates to infrastructure: This process involves setting up and migrating to an entirely new SQL environment with new servers and backend equipment. It also entails making improvements to system maintenance procedures.
• Tackling code de-customization: By analyzing business process reviews, you can identify each customization’s purpose and if Colleague ERP can meet those needs as part of its baseline.
• Performing data cleanup and transformation: The migration to SQL and de-customization processes will likely require data cleanup. Outcomes include clearing unnecessary stored information and finding homes for critical custom data.
• Refining reporting strategies and development: SQL makes reporting strategies easier and opens up a lot of opportunities for refinement.

4. Migration

The next phase of ERP optimization is focused on migration. First, you’ll need to test the new model. The testing process involves the following:

1. Develop test scripts.
2. Align business processes with technical updates.
3. Conduct unit and integrated testing.
4. Validate the new model.
5. Communicate updates to clients and stakeholders.
6. Refine reporting strategy with training and maximization of Colleague ERP tools. 

5. Go Live

Finally, it is time to go live with your Ellucian Colleague ERP software. At this point, you have the following to enhance your higher education institution’s most important processes:

• Modern infrastructure.
• Documented operating procedures.
• Significant customization reductions.
• Improved reporting.

Your staff will be able to focus their attention on continuous improvement and making your institution the best it can be. 

Optimize Your Ellucian Colleague ERP With Ferrilli

If you are looking for a strategic partner to help your higher education institution optimize its Ellucian Colleague ERP, turn to the committed team at Ferrilli.

We offer comprehensive ERP consulting services to help you optimize your investment and reap the greatest returns. We offer extensive Colleague ERP support. Our team will assist your institution with unparalleled functional and technical expertise that will enhance your operations and user experience at every level.  

Are you ready to learn more about how Ferrilli can help your higher education institution thrive? Explore our ERP and SIS consulting services or call us at 888.852.0314 for more information.